In recent years, many information appliances have external device connecting terminals (hereinafter, will be called external terminals) for connecting the information appliances to other devices such as peripheral devices and power supplies via cables during use. Generally, it has been required to protect external terminals because it is necessary to prevent the entry of dust and prevent damage caused by an impact in a collision with an external object when such information appliances are not connected to other peripheral devices. Thus the external terminals are covered with caps. Some caps are removed completely from appliances when external terminals are used, while others are partially fixed or locked unremovably on appliances. The latter type is used in most portable appliances including video cameras and cellular phones, that is, caps are fixed on appliances to prevent the loss of the caps during use.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-195450 describes a cap structure of the prior art. In the cap structure of the prior art, notches are formed on a front case and a rear case, a connector unit is attached near the notches to set a connector, and a connector cap for opening and closing the connector is provided. The connector cap has an integral structure of a fixed portion fixed to the connector unit, a thin plate for opening and closing the notches of the front case and the rear case, a hinge that connects the plate and fixed portion and is reduced in thickness to open and close in a hinged manner, and a claw portion, locked in engagement with the notch of the rear case when the plate is closed. The fixed portion of the cap is fixed to the connector in a case made up of the front case and the rear case, thereby preventing the case and the connector from separating from each other.
When the connector cap is opened to connect a cable terminal from an external appliance to an external terminal, the claw portion is removed from the notch of the rear case, and then the thin hinge is bent partially in a large angle to rotate the connector cap significantly, so that the connector cap is opened.